Jim Kershner’s this day in history

From our archives, 100 years ago

Gonzaga University fathers were preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Catholic faith being first “implanted in Spokane.”

They said that on Oct. 10, 1863, Father Joseph Caruana baptized 80 Coeur d’Alene Indian children and adults not far from the Spokane River.

Father George Weibel said he uncovered this fact while researching the history of the Jesuit missionaries in the Northwest. He had long known that Father Caruana had been at work in the Northwest since the late 1850s and had been in the vicinity of what is now Spokane. He also knew that Caruana had baptized 80 Indians at some unknown point above Spokane Falls.

Yet now Weibel said he had pinpointed the date and the exact place. He said the baptism had occurred right “where the Northern Pacific Depot now stands.”

That is now the Spokane Intermodal Center (the Amtrak station).

And, if 1913 marked the 50th anniversary of catholicism in Spokane, 2013 marks the 150th anniversary.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1971: Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people. … Idi Amin seized power in Uganda by ousting President Milton Obote in a military coup.

Spokane Valley is poised for growth with a balanced budget, a new city hall building and infrastructure improvements to lure new businesses to the city, Spokane Valley Mayor Rod Higgins said at a State of the City address on Wednesday.